Declassification of the Apple Dispute Right Case

Recently, the Provincial High Court has disclosed a case concerning the dispute over the ownership of the apple case of Apple v. Proview. On the one hand, it is the company with the world's market capitalization, and on the other is the enterprise on the verge of bankruptcy. Whether it is the “Lion Opening” or “The Ants Stumble on the Elephants”, the successful mediation of this case created a new approach to the dispute resolution of the foreign ownership of trademark rights. .

It is reported that the case was rated by the Supreme Court as one of the top ten cases in the country.

Past lives: Who is the IPAD trademark?

On December 7, 2012, Apple Inc.’s Ipad4 and Ipad mini landed in the Chinese mainland market. Apple's official website shows that just a few months ago, Apple’s Ipad product was in danger of being forced off the shelves and huge fines. The fact that this giant was instigated was on the verge of bankruptcy, Proview Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Proview Company”).

Founded in 1989, Proview was once the world's top five monitor manufacturer and has 17 branches or subsidiaries in 11 countries and regions such as China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. Its chairman and CEO is Yang Rongshan.

At the end of 2008, Apple found that its registration of the Ipad trademark had been registered by Proview. In order to obtain the trademark for the curve, Apple Inc. registered and established IP Application Development Co., Ltd. in the UK, and its representative negotiated with Imagine Co., Ltd. to negotiate the transfer of the Ipad trademark. It understands that the price of Ipad's transfer must be confirmed by the company itself. The water goes up.

In August 2009, IP company issued an invitation to Proview UK to "want to purchase the so-called Proview Ipad trademark." After many rounds of consultations, on October 21st of the same year, Proview UK informed IP companies that they needed to negotiate trademark assignments with their Chinese colleagues. Afterwards, Yuan Hui, a self-proclaimed Pro Crown employee who took part in the negotiation, became a key figure. Yuan Hui used the e-mail box of Shenzhen Proview Co., Ltd. for several times to continue negotiations with the IP company. The contents included 10 countries registered in 8 countries and regions such as China. Ipad trademark, which contains the two trademarks that caused the lawsuit to register in Shenzhen Proview.

After the two parties reached an agreement on the transfer of all 10 Ipad trademarks in a package of 35,000 pounds, Yuan Hui provided a signing of a trademark transfer agreement between the company's supervisor Mai Shihong and IP. In December 2009, Chairman Yang Rongshan of Taiwan Proview signed a written authorization on behalf of the company and authorized the company’s Minister of Justice Mai Shihong to sign the above-mentioned transfer agreement. On the same month on the 23rd, the two parties formally signed the transfer agreement, and IP Company subsequently paid £35,000 to Taiwan Proview.

In February 2010, IP Corporation transferred the above 10 Ipad trademarks to Apple with a consideration of £10. At this point, Apple has surfaced and began to deploy tablet PCs for global sales. On April 3 of the same year, Ipad1 was robbed by the market on its first listing.

When Apple Corp. requested Shenzhen Weiguan to cooperate with the transfer of the Ipad trademark in accordance with the trademark transfer agreement, the other party did not reject the account and took a bite on the ground of infringement. Apple and the IP company angered on May 24, 2010, Shenzhen, Shenzhen, the company appealed to the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. Apple appealed the order to order the trademark in question; it compensated its investigation fee and legal fees for a loss of 4 million yuan.

  Life: riding a tiger <br> <br> for Apple Apple's core evidence in court of evidence "power of attorney", "Transfer Agreement", e-mail exchanges between £ 35,000 check and transfer and Yuan-hui, Shenzhen Proview company are denied.

Shenzhen Proview Company believes that no one has been authorized to transfer the Ipad trademark, and the agreement between IP Company and Taiwan Proview Company is not binding on it. It is an independent legal entity between Taiwan and Proview.

This is undoubtedly the head of Apple. On March 22, 2010, before Apple sued, the trademark of the iPad involved in the case had been ruled in another case by Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. In another case, Shenzhen Proview Corporation was sued for arrears of a large number of banks’ debts, which had been suspended and bankrupted.

At the end of 2011, the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court rejected the Apple’s claim in the first trial. The grounds for the referee are: IP companies and Apple companies must have a higher duty of care when they want to obtain trademarks from others, and they should enter into a contract of transfer with the trademark owner in accordance with the provisions of the Chinese law, and handle the necessary transfer formalities. In this case, the trademark transfer contract was signed between the IP company and Taiwan Proview, and it is not binding on Shenzhen Proview.

Apple's defeat has attracted the attention of the world. The new Ipad is planning to be listed in mainland China, Apple has a bit of a hard time. On February 17th of the same year, Yang Rongshan, Chairman of Shenzhen Proview, and Li Su, a reorganization consultant of Proview, held a press conference in Beijing to direct Apple's “meticulous design” of fraudulently defrauding its iPad trademark. Apple Company sent a lawyer's letter to the other party, accusing Proview of making false statements and warning that "dispelling the wind will only affect the interests of both parties."

On January 5, 2012, Apple filed an appeal. On the day of the trial, in addition to the trial court, the Guangdong High Court opened up three video broadcast rooms, still unable to meet the journalists' application for hearing.

Mediation: secretly conducted by executives

In the second instance, Apple Inc. submitted new evidence that Shenzhen Weiguan Company's internal signing documents on "Ipad trademark sale matters". The document attempts to prove that Yang Rongshan, chairman of Shenzhen Weiguan, personally signed and approved the sale of all trademarks, including the two competing trademarks, to Apple. Shenzhen Proview denied the authenticity of the document.

For self-incriment, Apple also applied for a negotiation with Mr. Yuan Hui, a negotiator of mail exchanges, to testify that the negotiation process between the two parties has always been directed against Proview. At the time of the second instance, Shenzhen Weiguan Company held that Yuan Hui attached "unofficial opinions, conclusions and other information contained in the contents of this letter to the letter representing the negotiation. It should not be regarded as representing the position of Proview or its subsidiaries. ."

Shenzhen Proview Co., Ltd. already had debt of RMB 430 million. According to media reports, Apple proposed only millions of dollars in mediation, while Proview asked for hundreds of millions of dollars. Apple thinks this is tantamount to "a big opening for Lions."

The obstacle that straddles the judge and the parties is not just the amount. Each minute of the amount of mediation that Apple must pay must persuade the company's board of directors and shareholders to obtain their authorization. Proview Ipad's trademark has been registered in its name, but in fact it has been closed by several banks. "Even if the mediation, the bank agreed to release the seal" is also a legal obstacle.

In the next four months, mediation was conducted almost in isolation from the outside world. Except for judges of the collegial panel, only extremely high-level personnel directly involved. In the end, Apple promised to pay a consideration of 60 million U.S. dollars, and the iPad trademark was owned by it. Shenzhen Proview accepted the final mediation conditions from Apple. On June 25 of the same year, the Guangdong High Court sent a civil mediation document to both parties, and the mediation form took effect. Subsequently, Apple Inc. imported 60 million U.S. dollars from the account designated by the Guangdong High Court according to the mediation book.

On July 2, 2012, the State Trademark Bureau signed the court's ruling, and the dispute over the ownership of the trademarks of Apple and Proview Ipad was successfully resolved.

On September 20th of the same year, the Guangdong Higher Court ruled in another case that Shenzhen Proview Corporation entered the bankruptcy liquidation process and Apple’s payment of 60 million US dollars became the largest bankruptcy property of Proview Corporation. Industry insiders commented that the successful mediation of the case created a new path for dispute resolution of foreign ownership of trademark rights and was a milestone in the history of intellectual property trials.